Wire core brush with a plurality of loops composed of a single filament

ABSTRACT

A wire core brush with a core composed of at least two wires or wire legs twisted together, between which a large number of application elements composed of filament are held in a clamped fashion, each being embodied in the form of a loop whose ends are both affixed to the wire core, in which a large number of application elements that are each composed of a loop are composed of a single filament, which is clamped in one piece between the wires that are twisted together.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a novel wire core brush whose applicationelements are composed of filament, but unlike the previouslyconventional bristles, do not have ends that each protrude from arespective side, which could prick, but are instead embodied in the formof a loop.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Attempts have already been made to produce wire core brushes of thiskind.

In actual practice and independent of the intellectual property rightssituation, short, cut pieces of filaments were used for this purpose,which were folded together in a U shape and then subjected to thetwisting procedure.

This achieves a wire core brush with loops that are arranged in a moreor less irregular fashion because the loops produced in this way cannotbe mounted so that they are all more or less oriented in parallelplanes. Furthermore, this method cannot be used to produce wire corebrushes that have circular loops. This method also cannot be used toproduce wire core brushes whose loops form a well-defined helix betweenwhose turns open spaces are left, into which no loops extend. Inaddition, the method previously used was laborious since the filamentpieces had to be folded and then mounted between the wires, which is noteasy and which also sometimes produced a “prickly” application behaviorthat was found to be unpleasant, since each folded filament has two freeends, which after the twisting, protrude out from the side of thetwisted wires, opposite from the loop formed by the folded filament.

The object of the invention, therefore, is to describe a wire core brushthat is easier to produce, making it possible to inexpensively produce awire core brush whose application elements are loops composed of onefilament, and a method for producing such a wire core brush.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the invention, a wire core brush with a core composed of atleast two wires or wire legs twisted together, between which a largenumber of application elements composed of filament are held in aclamped fashion, each being embodied in the form of a loop that ispreferably completely closed, whose ends are both affixed to the wirecore. In this case, a large number of application elements that are eachcomposed of a loop are composed of a single filament, which is clampedin one piece between the wires that are twisted together. Contrary towhat one might imagine at first, the twisting of two or more wires, oneof which supports a one-piece spiral composed of filament, does notresult in a chaotic structure of spiral windings deformed any which way,but instead surprisingly produces a brush with very uniformly positionedand arranged application elements in the form of loops.

Preferably, the entire brush is composed of a single, continuousfilament or at most two such filaments and no more.

Ideally, therefore, all of the application elements that form a loop arecomposed of a single filament, which is clamped in one continuous piecebetween the wires that are twisted together.

It can thus basically be said that in the embodiment according to theinvention, a loop composed of the filament is immediately adjoined atthe ends of the loop, on the respective opposite side of the wire core,by another loop that is composed of the same filament.

In this application, the term “filament” has a double meaning. On theone hand, it has a broad meaning and refers to any band-like material inthe broader sense, such as a string, which has been formed from a foil.On the other hand, it preferably has a narrower meaning, namely the oneit usually has in brush design. Then the term means an individual stringthat is manufactured so that it is endless.

The invention is a departure from the concept of the filament used forthe production being cut into a large number of individual pieces thatare then inserted between the two wires that are to be twisted togetherand, after the twisting, the large number of individual pieces of thefilament are securely held in place.

Instead, in the simplest case, one uses a single filament, which isclamped as a whole—in one piece, not cut—between the wires that aretwisted together and forms a large number of loops that protrudeoutward, preferably in the radial direction, from the wires that aretwisted together.

For this purpose, before the twisting, the single filament is given aspiral shape that is preferably permanent. As a result, in comparison toa filament that is only temporarily laid into a spiral, a more uniformembodiment and alignment of the loops are achieved in the course of thetwisting.

This can be achieved in that the filament is wound in a spiral shapeonto a core and then heated so that after the subsequent cooling, it hasthe spiral shape that has been impinged on it by the core. Ideally, acold core is used for this and the heat treatment is provided from theoutside by subjecting the filament wound onto the core to hot air, hotsteam, or another suitable flow of heat. Alternatively, a chemicaltreatment can be provided instead, for example similar to an acidic permfor hair, which permanently imparts the spiral shape onto the filament.The core used for this treatment can be the shape of a cylinder or coneor can have another cross-section that reproduces the desired shape ofloops.

Alternatively, the filament can be extruded in a spiral shape.

Then the filament is threaded onto one of the wires that are to betwisted together, so that this wire then passes entirely or at leastessentially entirely through the inner space encompassed by the spiralshape of the filament (if individual turns are not threaded, this isirrelevant from a patent law standpoint, but it produces an unattractiveappearance).

Then the wires are twisted together.

As the twisting occurs, the individual spirals move in a regular fashionalong the individual wire turns and in this way, are fanned out from oneanother so that the individual spirals spread out in the circumferencedirection and form a helix. Between the individual turns of the helix, aloop-free intermediate space remains, which is likewise embodied in theform of a helix.

Each turn forms a completely closed loop, which begins at the corecomposed of the wires and also ends there again. In this way, thisone-piece, inherently uncut filament forms a large number of loops;preferably, this produces at least 10 loops or better still, at least 30loops. Ideally, all of the loops of the applicator are formed in thisway and in many cases, the applicator has no other application elementscomposed of filament.

If a denser set of bristles is desired, then not just a singlespiral-shaped filament is provided, but for example two filaments, whichare each given a spiral shape in the above-described way, preferablypermanently. Each of these two filaments is threaded in theabove-described way onto one of the wires that are to be twistedtogether, and then the two wires are twisted together. Here, too, eachfilament forms a large number of loops, preferably at least 10 loops orbetter still, at least 30 loops. Ideally, aside from the applicationelements composed of the above-mentioned filaments, the applicator hasno other application elements composed of filament. In this case,special effects are produced when different-colored filaments are used.

If not only two wires, but three or four are twisted together, then acorresponding procedure can naturally be used and a filament, which hasbeen previously provided with a spiral shape and subsequently forms alarge number of loops, can be threaded onto each of the wires that areto be twisted together.

From a patent law standpoint, it would also be necessary to think ofthreading onto a single wire two filaments or a large number offilaments one after the other, each of which has a spiral shape, asexplained above. Each of these filaments then forms a large number ofloops. This embodiment, however, is only described for the sake ofcompleteness in terms of patent law; it is not ideal since in this case,one is forced to accept an undefined position in the places where twofilaments that are successively threaded onto a wire intersect with eachother. Protection for such an embodiment is nevertheless claimed.

In a preferred embodiment, the filament has the shape of a spiral thatis wound for a large number of turns, preferably at least 50 times, andthat is slid onto one of the wires so that this wire passes through theinner space of the spiral and then the wires are twisted together. Theexpression “passes through” is understood to mean passing all the waythrough or passing at least essentially all the way through. In anycase, the latter instance occurs only when individual turns in the sensementioned above have not been threaded on along with the others.

Preferably, the individual loops are each at least essentially circularin shape. Optionally, it is possible for there to be diameterdifferences of +/−10% within a single loop.

Since the loops are arranged continuously one after another like scalesso that in the direction of the twisting axis, immediately adjacentloops are oriented in essentially the same direction and the surfacesthat are bounded by the immediately adjacent loops—viewed in thedirection of the twisting axis—overlap each other by at least 50% orbetter still, by 70% and since immediately adjacent loops either toucheach other or are situated so close to each other that a space no morethan six times the filament diameter or better still, no more than fourtimes the filament diameter remains free, the wire core brush accordingto the invention has a significantly increased substance storagecapacity.

The labyrinth of loops of the helix situated one after another, which isessentially regular from a geometrical standpoint, is therefore also ina position to store a significant amount of relatively highly fluidliquids and to dispense them again at the application site, particularlyas soon as the forces occurring during the application locally deformthe loops. Preferably, the loops form a helix, between whose windings, aloop-free intermediate space remains, which is likewise embodied in theform of a helix.

In a preferred embodiment, the loops each lie in a plane that extends inthe opposite direction from the slope of the wire core.

Preferably, after the twisting, each of these loops lies in a plane thatis essentially perpendicular to the twisting axis (+/−20° or betterstill, only +/−15°).

According to a preferred embodiment, the wires that are twisted togetheralso provide a clamped hold for cut filaments that form bristles with aradially protruding free end. This yields a very efficiently producibleset of bristles that also—not least—has the capacity to favorably storehighly fluid media and also provides a good combing action, which issuperior to the combing action of a “loops-only bristle set.”

The above-described variant can be produced even more efficiently, notby inserting additionally cut filaments between the wire legs/wires thatare to be twisted, but instead by at least part of the at firstcompletely closed loops of the finished, twisted applicator beingsubsequently sliced open and/or subsequently ground and/or trimmed,preferably for the purpose of a trim that determines the contour of thebristle set.

In a particularly preferred variant, at least part of the at firstcompletely closed loops of the finished, twisted applicator aresubsequently subjected to a heat deforming process in order to changetheir shape and/or orientation relative to the twisting axis. It is thuspossible to achieve previously unknown bristle set contours. Thedecisive point in this respect is that the closed loops composed of onefilament can be heated more intensely for heat deformation than bristlesthat are composed of cut filaments with a free end. This is because thefree ends overheat quickly, causing a ball of already molten material toform at the free ends of the bristles, as a result of which aftercooling again, each of the bristles treated in this way resembles a pinwith a head, which is unwanted in many cases. The closed filamentswithstand higher temperatures without the occurrence of somethingsimilar, which offers greater latitude with regard to the heatdeformation, i.e. the more powerfully heated loops can be deformed moreintensively.

It has turned out to be particularly advantageous if the filament—or atleast one of the filaments—which, in one piece, form(s) a large numberof loops is/are composed of a shape memory polymer. Specifically withclosed loops, the use of a shape memory polymer makes it possible toachieve very interesting effects, for example in that the cross-sectionof the loops (i.e. the cross-section enclosed by the loops) isalmond-shaped at lower temperatures, while at higher temperatures, theshape memory polymer returns to a circular cross-section in each loop.In addition, a shape memory polymer that has been used to form loops canexert particularly powerful forces with its shape memory effect andthese forces can also be used to deflect or deform other completelypassive bristles in the vicinity.

Separate protection is also claimed for a cosmetic system composed of anapplicator with a wire core brush according to the invention, a cosmeticcontainer, and a stripper, which features the fact that the stripper isparticularly soft, preferably flexible, and in particular, is composedof nitrile butadiene (NBR) or a comparable material.

Other advantages, effects, and possible embodiments ensue from thefollowing description of an exemplary embodiment in conjunction with thedrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a brush according to the invention, viewed in the directionparallel to the core composed of twisted wires.

FIG. 2 shows the filament wound into a spiral and the two wires 1 and 2before the twisting.

FIG. 3 shows the same thing as FIG. 2, but in a side view.

FIG. 4 shows a variant in which two filaments wound into spiralsindependently of each other are used.

FIG. 5 schematically shows—preferably for all exemplary embodiments—thatthe loops each lie in a plane that extends in the opposite directionfrom the slope of the wire core.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 shows a wire core brush 6 according to the invention. FIG. 1shows the two wires 1 and 2 that are twisted together and also shows thepattern formed by the single spiral-shaped filament used here, whenviewed parallel to the twisting axis D and when it has been threadedonto the wire 1, and the wires 1 and 2 have then been twisted. Thefigure shows very clearly that immediately adjacent loops 3, 4, viewedin the direction of the twisting axis D extending perpendicular to theplane of the drawing, overlap each other by at least 50% and as a rule,even by at least 70%. The loops in this case are circular, which was notpossible before. Depending on the shape that was used for producing thespiral shape of the filament, the loops can also similarly be given adifferent shape in a selective, controlled way. It should be noted thatthis applicator is preferably embodied so that it is equipped with asuccession of preferably at least 50, or better still at least 100loops, all of which are arranged so that two immediately adjacent loopslie in respective planes that are not parallel to each other, also seeFIG. 5 and the associated explanations. Angular differences of up to 1°,in some cases up to 2° can occur between the planes of two adjacentloops.

FIG. 2 shows the filament wound into a spiral and the two wires 1 and 2before the twisting. It is clear here that only the wire 1 has beeninserted into the spiral filament, whereas the wire 2 was placed to theside of it.

FIG. 3 shows the same thing, but in a side view. In this case, it isclear that the wires 1 and 2 are preferably not two loose, separatewires, but rather the two legs of a single wire that has been bent intoa U shape. The twisting axis D is also visible here.

FIG. 4 shows a variant in which 2 filaments wound into spiralsindependently of each other are used, one of which has been threadedonto the wire 1 and the other of which has been threaded onto the wire 2so that each of the two filaments has a different wire passing throughit. Then the wires are twisted.

FIG. 5 schematically shows that the loops each lie in a plane thatextends in the opposite direction from the slope of the wire core. Thisis clearly visible in FIG. 5 at the angles A and B. The slope of thewire core and the twisting axis enclose an angle A, which can bepositive, then the plane in which the loops lie and the twisting axis Denclose an angle B, which is on the other hand negative. Naturally, thiscan be reversed, with the angle A being negative and the angle B beingpositive.

It should also be noted that the twisting can be done in either theclockwise or counterclockwise direction.

A filament typically used for an applicator according to the inventionhas a thickness of between 2.5 and 7 mil, or better still, a thicknessof between 4 and 6 mil.

In order to produce a wire core brush according to the invention, atleast one filament with a spiral shape is produced and this spiral isthreaded onto one of at least two wires so that this wire passes in thelongitudinal direction all the way through the inner space enclosed bythe spiral, after which the wires are twisted together, see FIG. 3.

It can thus be generally stated that protection is also claimed for thefollowing embodiments:

A wire core brush with a core composed of at least two wires twistedtogether (wire legs) between which a large number of applicationelements composed of filament (filament: broad definition) are held in aclamped fashion, which are each embodied in the form of a (completelyclosed) loop (whose ends are both affixed to the wire core), in whichall of the application elements embodied in the form of a loop arecomposed of a single filament that is clamped in one piece between thewires that are twisted together.

A wire core brush with a core composed of at least two wires twistedtogether (wire legs) between which a large number of applicationelements composed of filament are held in a clamped fashion, which areeach embodied in the form of a (completely closed) loop (whose ends areboth affixed to the wire core), in which a large number of applicationelements each embodied in the form of a loop are composed of a singlefilament that is clamped in one piece between the wires that are twistedtogether. (Preferably: the entire brush is composed of a single filamentor at most two such filaments and no more.)

A wire core brush with a core composed of at least n wires twistedtogether (wire legs) between which a large number of applicationelements composed of filament are held in a clamped fashion, which areeach embodied in the form of a (completely closed) loop (whose ends areboth affixed to the wire core), characterized in that all of theapplication elements embodied in the form of a loop are composed of atotal of n−1 or n filaments that is/are clamped in one piece between thewires that are twisted together so that each filament forms a largenumber of application elements that are each embodied in the form of arespective loop.

A wire core brush preferably, but not exclusively according to one ofthe preceding paragraphs, composed of a core made up of at least twowires and at least one filament in the form of a spiral that is woundwith a large number of turns, preferably at least 50 times, that is slidonto one of the wires so that this wire passes (completely/essentially)through the inner space of the spiral and then the wires are twistedtogether.

A wire core brush preferably, but not exclusively according to one ofthe preceding paragraphs, composed of a core made up of at least twowires that are twisted together (wire legs) between which a large numberof application elements composed of filament (filament: broaddefinition) are held in a clamped fashion, which are each embodied inthe form of a (completely closed) loop (whose ends are both affixed tothe wire core), characterized in that the loops are embodied asessentially circular in shape.

A wire core brush preferably, but not exclusively according to one ofthe preceding paragraphs, composed of a core made up of at least twowires that are twisted together (wire legs) between which a large numberof application elements composed of filament (filament: broaddefinition) are held in a clamped fashion, which are each embodied inthe form of a (completely closed) loop (whose ends are both affixed tothe wire core), characterized in that the loops are arrangedcontinuously one after another like scales in such a way thatimmediately adjacent loops in the direction of the twisting axis areoriented in essentially the same direction and the surfaces that arebounded by the immediately adjacent loops—viewed in the direction of thetwisting axis—overlap each other by at least 50% or better still, by atleast 70%.

A wire core brush preferably, but not exclusively according to one ofthe preceding paragraphs, composed of a core made up of at least twowires that are twisted together (wire legs) between which a large numberof application elements composed of filament (filament: broaddefinition) are held in a clamped fashion, which are each embodied inthe form of a (completely closed) loop (whose ends are both affixed tothe wire core), characterized in that the loops form a helix betweenwhose turns a loop-free intermediate space remains, which is likewiseembodied in the form of a helix.

A wire core brush preferably, but not exclusively according to one ofthe preceding paragraphs, composed of a core made up of at least twowires that are twisted together (wire legs) between which a large numberof application elements composed of filament (filament: broaddefinition) are held in a clamped fashion, which are each embodied inthe form of a (completely closed) loop (whose ends are both affixed tothe wire core), characterized in that the loops each lie in a plane thatextends in the opposite direction from the slope of the wire core.

A wire core brush according to one of the preceding paragraphs,characterized in that the filament—or at least one of thefilaments—which, in one piece, form(s) a large number of loops has/havea round, oval, polygonal, or irregular cross-section.

A wire core brush according to one of the preceding paragraphs,characterized in that at least one or all of the wires has/have apolygonal, in particular triangular, rectangular, or star-shapedcross-section and/or is/are encased, in particular with plastic.

A wire core brush according to one of the preceding paragraphs,characterized in that a foil or a textile strip is twisted together withthe wires.

Protection is also claimed for a cosmetic system that has the claimedspecial stripper and that includes a cosmetic compound that is adjustedto be highly fluid, in the form of a mascara compound that has aviscosity of at most 120,000 mPas/sec and better still, of at most80,000 mPas/sec, and ideally, of at most 60,000 mPas/sec (plate/platerotation viscometer, room temperature).

Separate protection is also sought for a wire core brush that isequipped with a succession of preferably at least 50, or better still,at least 100 loops, which are arranged one after another along thetwisting axis so that they overlap one another like a fan and the wirecore brush is produced in that at least one filament with a spiral shapeis produced and this spiral (5) is slid onto one of at least two wires(1 or 2) so that this wire passes in the longitudinal direction all theway through the inner space enclosed by the spiral (5), after which thewires (1, 2) are twisted together.

Separate protection is also sought for the use of a brush as part of ahook-and-loop closure.

Separate protection is also sought for the use of a filament in the formof a spiral (preferably permanently transformed into a spiral) in orderto produce a wire core brush.

1. A wire core brush with a core, comprising: at least two wires or wirelegs twisted together, and a plurality of application elements composedof filament positioned between the at least two wires or wire legs andheld in a clamped fashion, each application element being embodied inthe form of a loop whose ends are both affixed to the wire core, whereina plurality of application elements that are each composed of a loop arecomposed of a single filament, which is clamped in one piece between thewires that are twisted together.
 2. The wire core brush according toclaim 1, wherein all of the application elements that form a loop arecomposed of a single filament, which is clamped in one piece between thewires or wire legs that are twisted together.
 3. The wire core brushaccording to claim 1, wherein the core comprises at least n wires orwire legs twisted together, between which a plurality of applicationelements composed of filament are held in a clamped fashion, which areeach embodied in the form of a loop whose ends are both affixed to thewire core, wherein all of the application elements embodied in the formof a loop are composed of a total of n−1 or n filaments, each of whichis clamped in one piece between the wires that are twisted together sothat each filament forms a plurality of application elements that areeach embodied in the form of a respective loop.
 4. The wire core brushaccording to claim 1, wherein the core comprises at least two wires orwire legs and at least one filament in the form of a spiral that iswound at least 50 times, that is slid onto one of the wires so that thiswire passes through the inner space of the spiral and then the wires aretwisted together.
 5. The wire core brush according to claim 1, whereinthe loops each have an essentially circular shape.
 6. The wire corebrush according to claim 1, wherein the loops are arranged continuouslyone after another like scales so that in a direction of a twisting axis,immediately adjacent loops are oriented preferably in the same directionor in essentially the same direction and the surfaces that are boundedby the immediately adjacent loops—viewed in the direction of thetwisting axis—overlap each other by at least 50%.
 7. The wire core brushaccording to claim 1, wherein the loops form a helix, between whosewindings, a loop-free intermediate space remains, which is likewiseembodied in the form of a helix.
 8. The wire core brush according toclaim 1, wherein the loops each lie in a plane that extends in anopposite direction from a slope of the wire core.
 9. The wire core brushaccording to claim 1, wherein the wires that are twisted together alsoprovide a clamped hold of cut filaments that form bristles with aradially protruding free end.
 10. The wire core brush according to claim1, wherein at least part of the at first completely closed loops of thefinished, twisted wire core brush are subsequently sliced open.
 11. Thewire core brush according to claim 1, wherein at least part of the atfirst completely closed loops of the finished, twisted wire core brushare subsequently ground.
 12. The wire core brush according to claim 1,wherein at least part of the at first completely closed loops of thefinished, twisted wire core brush are subsequently trimmed.
 13. The wirecore brush according to claim 1, wherein at least part of the at firstcompletely closed loops of the finished, twisted wire core brush aresubsequently subjected to a heat deformation in order to change theirshape and/or orientation relative to the wire core.
 14. The wire corebrush according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the filaments which,in one piece, forms a plurality of loops is composed of a shape memorypolymer.
 15. A cosmetic system composed of an applicator with the wirecore brush according to claim 1, a cosmetic container, and a stripper,wherein the stripper is soft, flexible, and is composed of nitrilebutadiene (NBR) or a comparable material.
 16. A method for producing thewire core brush according to claim 1, comprising producing at least onefilament with a spiral shape and threading this spiral onto one of atleast two wires so that this wire passes in a longitudinal direction allthe way through an inner space enclosed by the spiral, after which thewires are twisted together.